2012-ASEAN-MNP-Annexes-1.zip

2012 ASEAN Agreement on the Movement of Natural Persons

MNP Agreement

• ASEAN Documents
  • ASEAN Economic Community
    • ASEAN Economic Ministers
  • ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community
    • Labour

Article 11 ‘Dispute Settlement’:

“1. Member States shall endeavour to settle any differences arising out of the implementation of this Agreement through consultations.

2. A Member State shall not recourse to the ASEAN Protocol on Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism, signed on 29 November 2004 in Vientiane, Lao PDR and amendments thereto, regarding a refusal to grant temporary entry or temporary stay under this Agreement unless: (a) the matter involves a pattern of practice on the part of the granting Member State; and (b) the natural persons affected have exhausted all available domestic remedies regarding this particular matter.”

This Agreement is one of the ‘Covered Agreements’ pursuant to Article 1.1 of the 2019 ASEAN Protocol on Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism read together with its Appendix 1. The 2019 Protocol will only apply with respect to new requests for consultations made on or after its entry into force (20 June 2022). The 2004 Protocol applies to all other disputes.

Secretary-General of ASEAN

Annex 1 – Member States’ Schedule of Movement of Natural Persons Commitments; see the main ASEAN Trade in Services Agreements page for each Member State’s Schedule.

ASEAN Legal Instruments

14/06/2016

Article 16.1 ‘Entry into Force:

“This Agreement shall enter into force after all Member States have notified or, where necessary, deposited instruments of ratification with the Secretary-General of ASEAN , which shall not take more than 180 days after the signing of this Agreement.”

This Agreement partially supersedes the 1995 ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services in relation to Mode 4 (Movement of Natural Persons) pursuant to Article 6.2 of the former.

See also Article 4 of the 2020 ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement, which states:

“1. The ASEAN Agreement on the Movement of Natural Persons signed on 19 November 2012 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (hereinafter referred to as “ASEAN Agreement on MNP”), shall apply to measures by a Member State affecting the supply of a service through presence of natural persons of a Member State in the territory of any other Member States, and shall prevail in the event of any inconsistency with this Agreement.

2. With regard to the provisions under Sections II and III of this Agreement, the ASEAN Agreement on MNP shall prevail and apply exclusively to measures affecting the supply of a service through presence of natural persons of a Member State in the territory of any other Member States. “

1995 ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services

2007 ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint

2009 ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement

ASEAN Secretariat accessed on 12/12/2022

Dates of ratification and accession given above were obtained from the ASEAN Secretariat’s Legal Instruments website and its electronic collection of instruments of ratification, accession and notification. Some of the dates given appear to be the dates of execution of the instruments of ratification/accession, rather than their date of receipt by the depository.

Note Article 12: ‘Relation with ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement’:

“1. This Agreement does not apply to measures adopted or maintained by each Member State to the extent that they are covered by the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (“ACIA”).

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, this Agreement shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to measures adopted or maintained under Article 22 of the ACIA (Entry, Temporary Stay and Work of Investors and Key Personnel) affecting the movement of natural persons of a Member State in the territory of any one of the other Member States.

3. For greater certainty, Section B (Investment Dispute Between an Investor and a Member State) of the ACIA shall not apply to this Agreement.”